Halloween Pics from the Past!!

Witchy Jaye ~ Back in '76
A fun memory from this costume...back in the day at our school Halloween party when we were allowed to dress up. I remember carrying this hat, which was made of poster board, on the bus. Everything else was tucked inside a grocery sack but I couldn't hide the hat. A kid said, "I bet I know what you're gonna be!" That totally ticked me off..why I don't know but when I think of this kid...I think of that comment!!
Hmmmm, random I know!

Jessica ~ Baby Bop and Wesley ~ Baby Cow
This Baby Bop costume was awesome...and I made it myself. She was really into
Barney at this age. Funny we still have this costume in our attic.

Andi Olsen ~ Clown, Eric Olsen ~ Cow, Alex Armstrong ~ Vampire (neices and nephew),
Jessica ~ Princess, Wes ~ Superman!

This is a sign I drove past this summer. How about next years sign saying..."Have an Adventure this Summer!" Or "Go Crazy! No More Homework!" Or "Play Hard, Stay Up Late, Sleep In!" What would you put up for the summer sign?

Rock Band!

I'm the only one brave enough to make a fool of myself and do the vocals!

Notice...Wes' gift and he's not playing it!!
We had to be playing "Eye of the Tiger" here...it's the only song
Anna knows the words to!

Happy 14th Birthday, Wes!!

Wes turned 14 on the 21st...but because of HIS busy schedule (not ours) his birthday celebration was extended for 3 days!!

Monday after football practice we headed out to his restaurant of choice Red Lobster! Long gone are the days when he was satisfied with going to McDonald's for a happy meal. :(

Finishing off his last bite of "Endless Shrimp" ~ 50 total!!

Brian put away 40 shrimp!

Jess only made it thru 20 shrimp...we lost $$ on her!

What can I say...adding a touch of class to the place!!

The bit of food you see in his mouth made a second appearance on the way home in the van!
Joseph caught the "stomach bug" that had been going around at church. He has since shared it with me!!
How sweet he is?!

On Tuesday, his actual b-day. He had his last football game of the season. It was an hour away so we didn't return home until pretty late that night. We did break into his locker at school and surprise him with a special b-day treat. We didn't get to see too much of him this day. But we did enjoy watching him play the last game!!

On Wednesday, we finally were able to have the b-day cake!!

Praising God for His Blessings!

Why is it that I KNOW the Lord will provide our needs when we are obedient to Him, BUT I am always amazed at how He does so...so unexpectedly?!?!?!? This is just ONE example of several that I can think of that has happened within the last couple weeks.

CLOTHES, CLOTHES and MORE CLOTHES!!

We've been so fortunate to have several families in our church that have been so giving in this area! My kids are ALWAYS growing and ALWAYS out-growing their clothes...what gives???? Anyway, it never fails that someone will bring a sack of clothes into church that their kid has just outgrown and that my kid can fit right in!! Or they'll tell me of a rummage they are having and let me go thru their stuff first!! How cool is that!!!

Here's Anna with her latest haul...3 garbage bags of cute, "tween" clothes! She's started going thru them to see what fits and what we need to give back to be passed on to someone else. Because I won't allow more clothes than what fits in her dresser...I'm sure we'll be passing back quite a bit!! :)

The Circle of Stuff

Wes is cleaning out his closet preparing for a mini bedroom makeover. He is a pretty clean kid but he tends to be a bit of a "packrat". I really think he has every toy ever purchased for him. I just thought I'd share with you the excitement happening on the 2nd floor of our house tonight!!

Wes has dumped his whole closet onto his bed.

The special stuffed animals are making their way to the attic.

Kinda a "before" shot...maybe in a couple months you'll see the "after".

Joseph showing off his new treasures...hundreds of Hot Wheels.
Some of these were actually Brian's when he was a kid...
what was I saying about being a pack-rat!!

Anna's new treasures include: an old dart board, spongebob stickers, sea shells, a complete library of "Captain Underpants" chapter books, a bucket of bouncy balls and Wesley's 4th grade valentine box...
a treasure chest of used valentines!!

What brings this all full circle is that I remember when I was little my brother would "clean" his room in the same way. He would always pile all the stuff he no longer wanted in front of my bedroom door with a sticker on it that said "Happy Birthday"! Aren't big brothers the best?!?!? ~Jaye

Men at Work!

Joseph will miss his "Daddy Day" tomorrow since Brian will be at the Fuel Conference. So today they decided to work on a little project together.

The boys and their toys

Tightening up the hinges on the bathroom door...
who's been slammin' it to knock it loose?!?!?

Road Trip 10/08

I took the youth group on a road trip last night
we went to Campbells Pumpkin Patch.
We had great weather, and a great time. You should
go there and check it out.

Free Redbox Rental

If you're into free stuff...check this out!! A free movie from McDonalds redbox!! For a funny story about Brian's redbox experience...read here! ~Jaye

Got tagged by Stevan today on the latest blog meme. Here goes:

Meme Rules: Each player answers the question themselves.
At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

10 years ago (1998):
1. I was the youth pastor at Bryant Wesleyan, and loved it.
2. I had only two children at that time.
3. I had been married 10 years.
4. I was finishing up my last semester at IWU.
5. Didn't see my family much because of work and school, hated that part.

5 things on today’s “to do” list:
1. It is a daddy/Joseph day
2. Attended Eastbrooks football game
3. Enjoy my "kinda" day away from the office
4. Go into town to pick up some tires to decorate for this Sundays Sermon
5. Do the dishes, again.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Beef Jerky
2. Corn Nuts
3. Cashews
4. Pop Corn
5. Diet Dr Pepper, does soda count as a snack?

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Keep my friends the Bowlins over seas, they'd never have to travel around asking for money.
2. Harley-Davisdon, Nightster for myself for pastor appreciation month.
3. Two week family vacation every year!
4. Live dept free~house, school loans, all of it gone
5. Invest

5 places I have lived:
1. Merrrillville, IN: for my teen years, great place!
2. Ashland, OH, JR and SR year of high school, hated every minute of it.
3. Gas City, IN, loved it there. That was a fun time in our lives.
4. Bryant, IN, Great place to live, really didn't want to leave.
5. Marion, IN, here we are now. Live is good.

5 jobs I have had:
1. Youth Pastor
2. IMI, Calcium products
3. Stanley Steemer, Crew Chief
4. Matthews Buick, body shop gofer
5. Marsh Supermarket, carry-out, produce, dairy, and cashier

Now, I’m supposed to tag 5 others:
1. Andy Jellison
2. Brad and Kari Terhune
3. Anna Burry
4. Bekah
5. Keetha

As you may know we have have not every talked about politics on this blog....why? Well, Ol Brian learned a lesson one time about politics, he now keeps his opinions to himself. You can assume you know my leans but the truth is you don't, nor will you ever, because I keep those to myself. I received this email today from an old friend. It is talking about the bail out plan....I like this idea, I would be able to get that motorcycle that I have given up dreaming about. What do you think? ~Brian

THE EMAIL:

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It Dividend".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a "We Deserve It Dividend".

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college - it'll be there

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs

Invest in the market - capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion "We Deserve It Dividend" more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards, A Creative Guy & Citizen.

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!